Illegitimate son of Duke of Wellington?

Question

There is a long-lasting story in my family that Arthur Wellesley - the famous Duke of Wellington - illegitimately fathered a son, who is my ancestor. His name was John Richards (born in Dublin, c.1810), he was an excellent violinist (like Wellington!), was educated at Trinity College Dublin, and was then 'shipped out' to South Africa with the 'Regiment of Foot' in 1830.

Does anyone know whether there is any truth to his apparent paternity?

Thanks!

Answer 1

It looks as if someone else has heard an illegitimate son story too:

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/...

I also found this, which may be of interest to you:

"Other rifts were prompted by marital scandals, of which the family seemed to have more than its fair share, with guilty parties on both sides: Richard was notorious for his numerous affairs, which left three illegitimate children, much to the ire of Arthur, who remained single for a considerable period of his life."

http://journals.ucfv.ca/jhb/Volume_3/Vol... (top of page 3)

Answer 2

Have you traced your ancestry back that far?

Who was John's mother?

This would be fun to research, so maybe you should find an expert in Irish genealogy to help you, since some of the records could be difficult to locate.

Good luck and happy searching.

Answer 3

Our ancestor, Jane Colley, from N. Yorkshire, married our ancestor, John Mansell, to come to Canada.  Our family story is that she is a cousin to the Duke of Wellington.  He did have roots in Ireland but I can't answer your specific question.  If you hear of any such research, please keep in touch.